This course continues the work begun in ENGL110 by allowing students to further develop their skills in argumentation and rhetoric. Studying informal fallacies and argumentative techniques, students will analyze the form of various aspects of the media: from print media to blogging, from advertisements to “serious” journalism, from podcasts to films. Students will begin with the assumption that all genres of the media are, at their most basic level, arguments that need to be qualitatively evaluated. “Breaking News” takes an interested but skeptical look at the techniques deployed by those who want to communicate their argument to modern audiences as well as the comprehension skills audiences bring to bear on the media.